Real Skateboards is a skateboard company that was founded in 1991 by Tommy Guerrero and Jim Thiebaud, ex-Powell Skateboards riders at the time of formation, with support from skateboarding pioneer and entrepreneur, Fausto Vitello. Guererro explained in a
twenty-year anniversary interview:
“I’m not quite sure how me and Thiebaud met; through mutual friends, I think. We were skating together all the time, when he moved to the city and I was giving him Powell gear, and that’s, and then he got on Powell, you know, after that—he just felt it wasn’t right, you know? And, he went to skate for Natas. You know, he skated for, for, SMA for a while, and then the opportunity came to do something with Real. He approached me, but also Fausto and those guys approached me to be part of it, and at that point in time, at Powell, I was sort of being put on the back burner—’cause all the young guns coming, and I felt it, I knew, you know. And I figured, shit, I want to stay, stay in this world for as long as I can. You know, who wants to grow up? … And we were sort of the first to start our thing on our own, in the sense that we were spearheading it and we did whatever we wanted … Skateboarding is, it’s not, it’s not about 
stardom, or any of that stuff; it has nothing to do with it. So we kind of took it back, back into the streets … Skating has to be raw—you gotta keep it raw and I think Real has done a good job of that.It was all about just friends doing something together that they believed in. when you have that, it’s kind of unstoppable.”
Guererro, an accomplished musician in addition to his ongoing role at Real, has praised Thiebaud for his commitment to the
company, explaining that, “Jim has held it down … and really is, the genius behind Real. It’s all owed to the skaters and to Jim; all skaters past, present, and to come. ’91—when we first got our boards in, and, um … and that’s why we’re here today, twenty years later.”
The Real Team has always been synonymous with pure talent and the best of the best, they have recently added one to the ranks! Patrick Praman is now Pro for Real! 20 years young and born in Thailand, Patrick moved to Virginia when he was 7 years old. A BATB 13 contestant and a few video appearances under his belt, we finally get his Pro Debut! Congrats Patrick! Well deserved!
